IMAO Chapter 55

Horace lowered his gaze, feeling Ji Chong’s fingers tighten around his wrist while his breath ghosted across his cheek. Ji Chong’s palm burned hot against his skin, as if it could leave a mark. He really didn’t want him to leave.

It’s not like he hadn’t thought about the possibility of seeing Ji Chong again one day. He had also practiced the expressions he should wear when facing this man. As an emperor, he should remain expressionless and aloof. Yet when they actually met again, he discovered that his heart still fluttered for Ji Chong just as strongly as when they first met.

The memory of their first encounter floated to the surface of his mind.

Planet Deyo.

A famous scenic planet.

He met Ji Chong on the way there.

He had been determined as an Alpha since childhood, but during one examination, they discovered he was actually an Omega. Specifically, he was a Type A disguised Omega. There had been such cases in royal history before.

The problem was that everyone weaker than him believed he was an Alpha, and his genetic strength happened to be the highest. Before meeting Ji Chong, no one had ever detected his ‘Omega’ scent!

When they had their misunderstanding, releasing Alpha pheromones to establish dominance was basic Alpha behavior. He had released his pheromones toward Ji Chong as usual, but Ji Chong caught the scent of an Omega instead. He still remembered Ji Chong’s expression at that moment.

Ji Rong had worn a cold expression, raising his left eyebrow, “What are you doing? Releasing pheromones to seduce Alphas into committing a crime?”

He had been completely dumbfounded. This person actually detected Omega pheromones.

…

Away from the garden and into the corridor, Ji Rong finally slowed his pace and let out a breath. Remembering his father’s murderous expression from earlier, he felt a twinge of heartache and grievance.

It was only his first meeting with his stepfather, yet he got glared at. If he hadn’t run fast enough, he seriously suspected his father would have hit him!

Stepfather!

Seeing Ji Rong’s troubled expression, Jiang Yuan mistakenly thought Ji Rong was worried about being punished by Ji Rong. He wrapped an arm around Ji Rong’s shoulders, consoling him, “The Marshal won’t be angry over such a small matter.”

When Jiang Yuan leaned against him, Ji Rong’s body stiffened. All thoughts of Ji Chong and his stepfather vanished from his mind.

Jiang Yuan’s body carried no pheromone scent, only the fresh fragrance of shower gel. It was obviously not pheromones, but to him, this scent represented Jiang Yuan, and his spine instantly tensed.

Jiang Yuan’s breath warmed his cheek, almost burning his skin, and Ji Rong’s heart pounded wildly.

With his arm hooked around Ji Rong’s neck, their bodies pressed together on one side, Jiang Yuan could naturally hear Ji Rong’s accelerated heartbeat. Looking at Ji Rong, he patted his shoulder and said, “It’s alright, you still have me, don’t you? I went there with you. If anyone gets punished, we’ll face it together.”

Ji Rong: “I know.”

Jiang Yuan poked Ji Rong’s ear, “Your ears are all red.”

At Jiang Yuan’s touch, Ji Rong shuddered instantly, his body and soul trembling. The earlobe where Jiang Yuan’s finger had touched now burned scorching hot.

“Stop worrying. Come on, Gu Bai and the others are waiting for our news.” Jiang Yuan smiled, grabbing Ji Rong’s wrist and pulling him toward the hall.

Ji Rong’s gaze fell on Jiang Yuan as he managed a difficult “Mm.” I’m not worried about what happened earlier, I’m worried about committing a crime right now.

…

Entering the hall, Jiang Yuan looked around but couldn’t find Gu Bai and the others. Everyone wore masks, and after their earlier separation, it was impossible to locate them immediately. Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong agreed to find a corner to sit and message Gu Bai’s group.

The corner spot wouldn’t disturb others, but two people already occupied the table. One of them, a red-haired young man, looked up as Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong approached. He elbowed his companion, “Ge, I bet you 10,000 star coins these two will sit here and try to chat with you!”

Lu Yan gave the redhead a bland glance and turned another page in his book, ignoring his comment.

Watching the two approach, he lowered his gaze slightly, feeling annoyed. At every ball, various Omegas would try to strike up conversations with him. He had lost count of how many Omegas he’d rejected, but he knew today’s count would increase by two.

He originally thought today’s masquerade ball would be more relaxing than usual since no one could recognize them behind their masks. Who knew his brother would dye his hair such an eye-catching red and insist on accompanying him.

“Couldn’t you stay away from me?” Lu Yan asked, somewhat helplessly.

“Ge, you hurt my feelings saying that.”

The redhead pretended to wipe his eyes, feigning tears. Lu Yan glared at him, irritated.

“Is anyone sitting here?” A clear, crisp voice interrupted Lu Yan’s annoyance.

Lu Yan looked up slightly to find the two people from earlier. They were quite tall…

Too tall for Omegas.

Could they be Alphas?

As Lu Yan pondered this, he caught a faint sweet strawberry scent in the air. He was startled to realize it came from these two.

Uh…

They really were Omegas.

Really tall ones, almost his height. The Omega with red ears might even be a few centimeters taller than him.

These Omegas would have trouble finding Alphas. Most Alphas couldn’t accept an Omega taller than themselves. Who knew how much discrimination these two had faced from Alphas because of their height.

Lu Yan pondered for a moment before confronting a serious problem: how should he reject these two Omegas’ confessions while avoiding hurting their fragile hearts?

This was too difficult.

Still, difficult as it was, he had to think of something.

Lu Yan stared at the page of his e-book, not turning it for a long while.

“Is anyone sitting here?” Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow. Why wasn’t this person responding?

“No one, please sit,” the redhead jumped in, smiling at Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong.

After sitting down, Jiang Yuan took out his communicator and messaged Gu Bai’s group: “Ji Rong and I are back. Where are you?”

After waiting a while, Ji Rong asked, “No response?”

Jiang Yuan shook his head, “None.”

Ji Rong didn’t mind. He was just asking casually. It was better if the others weren’t around; he could spend time alone with Jiang Yuan.

“Let’s eat something. I’m getting hungry since we haven’t had dinner,” Jiang Yuan said.

“I’ll get it.” Ji Rong stood up and walked out, returning moments later with food.

Jiang Yuan made a surprised sound, “I’ve noticed we have similar tastes. Everything you brought, I like to eat. As expected of good brothers, we even share the same taste in food.”

Ji Rong: “…”

Ji Rong: “Mm.”

I just know what you like to eat!

Ji Rong silently added in his heart.

He actually wanted to tell Jiang Yuan this but feared scaring him away. After all, Jiang Yuan clearly had an aversion to Alphas as boyfriends right now, and he didn’t want Jiang Yuan to sentence him to death.

Listening to Jiang Yuan’s words, Lu Yan’s mouth twitched: Don’t all Omegas call each other sisters?

And isn’t the reason you two spend time together because you’re both unusually tall Omegas? The truth is probably that regular Omega sisters won’t hang out with you, right?

Lu Yan sighed, forcing himself to stop his wandering thoughts and concentrate on crafting his rejection speech. Just then, his communicator popped up with a message.

Louis: Ge, guess how long before they confess? [/cute]

Lu Yan: Boring.

Louis: Let’s make a bet! I bet within fifteen minutes! Both Omegas will definitely confess to you within fifteen minutes! If I win, you treat me to dinner!

Lu Yan: You might as well just ask me to treat you to dinner directly.

Louis: Hahaha, Gege, you’re so narcissistic. What if they really just came to sit?

“…Mm.” Lu Yan took a deep breath, adjusting his mindset. He had basically prepared his words, planning to comfort these two unusually tall Omegas while he was at it.

This wouldn’t be the first or second confession he received. His outstanding looks and abilities had won over many Omegas, and his prestigious family background made him the center of attention. He was quite experienced in rejecting people without hurting their dignity!

Ah, as this year’s captain of the Hoyt Imperial Academy team, just thinking about dealing with even more pursuing Omegas after the competition gave him a headache.

Jiang Yuan checked the time. He and Ji Rong had been sitting there for over ten minutes.

Lu Yan stared intently at the time on his communicator, frowning. Fourteen minutes had passed without a confession; these two weren’t too impatient, he thought to himself.

Just then, Jiang Yuan’s communicator buzzed.

Gu Bai had finally replied to his message. Apparently, Liu Shan had met an Omega and danced with them. They seemed to have hit it off. The Omega had come with several Betas and Omegas, so after greeting Marshal Alfonso, they’d all left. Now, the group of Alphas, Betas, and Omegas were having a social gathering outside.

Gu Bai: Are you coming?

Jiang Yuan passed the communicator to Ji Rong, asking, “Want to go?”

Ji Rong: “No.” Why would I want to meet more Beta love rivals?

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan nodded and replied to Gu Bai directly: We’ll pass. Have fun.

Seeing Jiang Yuan stand up, Lu Yan tensed, his back instantly straightening. Here it comes, here it comes, still within fifteen minutes.

Fourteen minutes and fifty-five seconds, they’d been quite patient.

But just as Lu Yan was considering how to phrase his rejection, the two opposite him moved with fluid grace, turned around, and simply left.

Lu Yan: …

Wait, you two! Aren’t you forgetting something? Don’t you have something to say? I had my whole speech prepared! I even thought about how to comfort you about not feeling inferior about your height!

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please consider supporting the author directly.

You can also follow me on Ko-fi to get access to the latest updates on my translation progress and new projects. I appreciate your love and feedback.